Regenator
by SeaIng
Summary: *SEQUEL to Predicter* Even the invincible will fall.
1. First Mission

**Welcome to the third story in the _Caliber _series and the sequel to "Predicter"! :) (If you haven't read that one or "Trigger" I suggest you hop on over to my profile and read those first so you'll have a good understanding of this one.) Today is a special day! Not only was "Trigger" published one year ago, but this is also the start to a new story of mine, yay!**

**This one will be written in 3rd person POV because 1) it is done in honor this being the third story in the series ;) and 2) to keep things simple and very un-confusing. I hope you all enjoy this new adventure and hold on to your hats-it's going to be a _very _crazy ride. **

**I will not be telling which superhero/action movies inspired this until the end, so nothing can be spoiled. :D**

**And with that, enjoy! **

**Special thanks to my beta Two-Ways-Down-None-To-Go and also ForWhomTheBelleTolls who created the nice cover picture. :)**

**Rated T for action violence.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the plot. **

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CHAPTER 1

"Collapse on west wing of Gongora Cave. Tunnels leading to rooms cannot be reached from the inside. Rescue parties must enter from the ceilings."

"The cause?"

"Currently unknown and being investigated."

"Is anyone trapped right now?"

"Three tourists and their pet dog are in the process of being rescued."

After turning off the special radio that IQer André Harris had programmed to hack into and read channels from any radio frequency in the world, a gang of seven very talented and unique calibers immediately prepared for travel.

Robbie Shapiro, a twenty-three-year-old with the ability of teleportation, transported everyone to the dark and mysterious world of Gongora Cave, located in the heart of Guatemala.

The group specialized in rescue missions and fighting crimes everywhere in the world that regular humans were to slow to help or too weak to battle with. After spending two weeks establishing a code of ethics, creating matching costumes and picking gear and weapons, the gang of seven calibers was ready to go. They had already been in action for almost a month and were somewhat recognized by the human public as heroes, although now and then came across an overprotective caliber vigilante who insisted they didn't want their help to watch over the citizens in their territory.

The seven superhumans started taking flashlights out of their backpacks as they examined the mossy cave walls and the water that dripped down from the cracked ceiling. The only natural light available came down from the rips in the rocks above them and reflected off the pools of water beneath their feet.

Jade West took a SnapLight out of her pack and handed it to the youngest of the group, Tori Vega, who was without her own backpack. Tori accepted it and bent it with a crack, the object beginning to emit a bright green glow.

"How are we going to get the people out of here?" Beck Oliver—Jade's boyfriend—asked, breaking the silence among them.

"We'll need to locate the area where the current rescue party is gathering," André announced. "Robbie can take them all up there once we've found them, so we'll split up into groups: Jade and Tori, Beck and Cat, and Trina and I. Robbie, you stay here. When we find them, we'll bring them here and then you can get them up and out."

"I have to stay here all by myself?" he whined.

"Suck it up, Shapiro," Jade barked. "At least you won't have to be running through a dark tunnel that could collapse on you at any moment."

"Everything seems pretty stable right now, actually," André interrupted. "But we still have to work fast. Keep in touch through the earpieces and be safe, everyone."

He nodded and they split up, with Robbie staying behind and trying to find a place to sit while he waited for them to return. Eventually he found a relatively clean rock and sat down on it, whipping out his PearPhone and playing Grumpy Gerbils.

Beck had taken Cat Valentine—the tiny, red-headed Predicter—towards the far left tunnel. He held her hand and helped her cross the set of jagged rocks pointed upwards and made sure she didn't slip on the slick surfaces. Jade could hear her giggling about how their touching hands was going to make her jealous and she rolled her eyes at the comment. Their yellow lights became smaller and smaller as they inched forward into the shadows.

André and Trina Vega, Tori's older sister, had their own blue lights and were walking in the direction that faced Robbie's back. Trina began yapping so loudly Jade thought that the sound waves would cause the cave's ceiling to collapse again. Tori poked Jade's shoulder and pointed for them to travel in a direction away from the others'.

They wandered around slowly and examined the fixtures of the cave and its wild plants overtaking the walls and ground. Tori waved around her green light as fast as she could, enjoying the swirling effect that reflected everywhere.

"Stop acting like a little kid," Jade huffed, annoyed with her partner already.

"This is so cool though," Tori replied simply, her mouth hanging open in awe. "Look, when you shine the light on these rocks they turn into a rainbow—"

Suddenly, the earpieces crackled in both of their ears with Beck's voice.

"We've found the little girl and are bringing her back to Robbie. She's got a few bruises from being knocked over when part of the ceiling collapsed near her but is otherwise unhurt." Jade could hear Cat in background comforting the little girl, promising her that they were there to help her.

"Trina found someone stuck under some rocks," André reported. "We're going to get them out right now." His line went dead.

"We'd better get cracking then, kid," Jade said to Tori, who was, once again, not paying attention and busy playing with her SnapLight like it was the first time she'd ever gotten to use one. Slightly ticked off, Jade walked up and snatched the object from her hands, replacing it with the boring flashlight she was holding. Tori pouted like a child but didn't try and take her original light back.

A few minutes later, Beck's voice came back, reporting that the little girl of the family was with Robbie and being taken up above ground. Robbie found the human paramedics and rescuers and handed over the child, brushing off the compliments and only telling them that he would return with the rest of the family before dimensioning away.

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André and Trina were struggling to move the large boulders wedged above the unconscious man. André could see no further than the man's left hand and head, the rest of his body hidden. Trina was actually sweating from her efforts and André was becoming worried that she would give up soon in favor of not ruining her make-up too much.

Sure enough, he was right.

Trina dropped the rock she was currently holding, leaving him to take its full weight. His fingers were inches away from being smashed underneath and his leg muscles strained to keep the mini boulder suspended. Trina was oblivious to his splutters of needed help, instead brushing the dust off his palms and wiping them against her designer jeans.

"Help—me—!" he gasped.

"These pants are giving me a wedgie," she said, completely irrelevant to the situation and adjusting her belt, pulling upwards on the waistband.

"God, _Trina_!" André yelled.

"Geez, okay, okay, calm down, 'Dre," she muttered, helping him with the large rock and pushing it back where it slid away from them. "See? Was that really so hard for you to do?"

Grumbling and rubbing his forearms, André shined his blue light across the ground where they saw the pale hand sticking out from under several more boulders.

"Let's hurry up and get this all out of the way," he said, bending his knees and pushing strongly against another rock. Trina stood there, watching with her arms crossed. "Excuse me, are you going to help or what?"

"Fine," she huffed, "Why do you expect me to do everything around here?"

_That's not what I said_, André thought crossly but held his tongue. He should've assigned Trina with someone else. He had forgotten how freakishly annoying and obnoxious she could be.

After moving around several large masses, the two were close enough to slide the man out. André steeled himself and lifted a boulder while Trina reached under him and dragged the man towards her. Dropping the bulky rock, he kneeled down next to them.

The man's left kneecap was twisted awkwardly and there was blood staining his pants. He was deeply unconscious and there was a small cut on his forehead.

"Okay, now we can take him back to Robbie," Trina said, straightening her back and starting to walk away, leaving the man with André.

"Hey, you have to help!"

"I've done my job," she said sassily and waving a hand at them. "But since you insist _so _much, I guess I will help you out of the goodness of my heart." André rolled his eyes and looked on as Trina whipped out her own blue flashlight and flipped it on. "See? I'll be the guide and you can be the little pack mule."

"What?" André thought he had heard her call him a donkey.

"Hurry up, man!"

André sighed, throwing the man over his shoulder and walking quickly after Trina. She ended up being the worst 'guide' he had ever met unsurprisingly—he almost broke his neck after slipping in an unseen puddle.

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With André and Trina taking their time to bring the father to Robbie, Beck and Cat decided to head out and help search for the last two missing family members. Jade and Tori were now almost a mile away from everyone else, still searching for any signs of life other than the moss on the walls.

"We have to make sure that we find someone," Tori announced to Jade.

"Isn't that what we're doing?" Jade replied, kicking at a small stone.

"Um yes, but I mean that we can't let Beck and Cat find everyone. We need to make our contribution," Tori said determinedly.

Jade rolled her eyes. She had no idea where they were and was surprised that they hadn't reached a dead end yet, considering how far away they were from their starting position. "Do you think the dog might've come all the way out here?" she asked.

"Oh my gosh, yes, let's find the dog!" Tori scampered ahead and out of Jade's sight to the point where Jade could only locate her by the sound of her voice and the flashlight that bobbed up and down in her hand.

"You're as bad as Cat," Jade mumbled to herself, slightly amused.

Eventually either Tori got scared or was too tired to go on by herself and fell back to where Jade was slowly pacing herself. The cave's tunnel was becoming narrower and narrower, and there was hardly any more natural light from the ceiling.

"We should go back now," Jade suggested, bouncing on her legs to see how much longer they could hold out. She would be fine for another few miles thanks to her self-restoring powers, but she doubted Tori would be able to last as long as she could.

"No, I can keep going," Tori puffed, clutching her side and shaking her head.

"Oh, really?" Jade smirked. "Because just by looking at your posture, I can tell you right now that—"

She was interrupted with a loud bark that filled the tunnel.

"The dog!" Tori exclaimed, seeming to have regained her energy. She waved her light around, hoping that it would attract the animal. Jade stood stock-still, her ears straining to listen for the thud of paws crossing slippery rocks.

Finally, Tori's light found the canine, a rather large Labrador mix with dark golden fur streaked with mud, standing a dozen feet away. Shifting on its big feet, the dog's tail wagged back and forth tersely. Jade saw its eyes, noting that they were an unusual glassy green. It gave another bark before charging towards Jade like a bullet.

"Uhm, slow down, buddy—" The dog collided with her and they fell backwards onto the pointed stones. Jade's own flashlight slipped from her hand as the dog chomped its strong jaws around her wrist.

"AUGH!" Jade screamed, using her other hand to wrestle with the animal in the dark. "OW! God, stupid mutt, let go, let go, LET GO! Holy chiz! Tori! Freaking help me out here!" Jade could feel her blood dripping down her fingers as she tried to pull away from the insanely tight grip. The dog merely growled, curling its lip and sinking its sharp teeth further into her flesh.

Tori didn't even have to think twice before springing to help her friend. She used her Kinecter powers and pushed the dog away. It gave a small yelp when its incisors unhooked out of Jade, and it bounced farther from her, staggering on its paws from the force before collapsing on its side, stunned and confused.

"Ouch, ow, ow, ow!" Jade winced, sitting up and wrapping her good hand around the bloody wound. The flow was already starting to ease and she could feel her skin beginning to heal. "Freakin' dog."

Tori stood between the dog and Jade, watching it carefully. The animal's body seized up as it panted hard, and she thought for a moment that the creature had gone rabid and she'd need to make Jade see a doctor after being bitten. But then it went still. After another few tense seconds, the dog pushed itself up and faced Tori. She saw that its eyes were now soft brown rather than the icy blue it had been earlier. It was probably just the lighting of the cave.

The Labrador mix trotted forward, mouth opening in a goofy smile. Tori lifted her hand and held it out hesitantly as the dog nosed her fingers and licked her palm. Its tail wagged back and forth happily as she scratched under its chin.

"Good boy," she said.

"You know, I'm starting to think that all animals in general just hate me," Jade groused, struggling to stand up. Her backpack slipped off as she grabbed nearby rocks for support. Tori walked over and helped steady her.

"I'm sure that's not necessarily the case," Tori comforted. She approached the dog and looped her fingers in his green collar, tugging him forward. He nudged her side before bounding off, following the light Tori emitted from her flashlight.

Jade sullenly picked her backpack off the ground as she dusted off her shirt, failing to notice the new addition of ugly white goo clinging to the bottom of the bag that suddenly glowed and turned an ominous black.

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_ The creature slid out of the two rock halves, feeling hot sunlight burn into its back. Knowing that it needed to find safety in the underground or somewhere cool and damp, it crawled across the warm ground, locating a large crack nearby that was probably caused when it first crash-landed on this new planet. _

_ Lowering itself into the fracture, the creature could not find any footing and promptly fell straight through, landing in a dusty heap of pale white, gelatinous goo. Remaining in its natural form, it could pick up the noises of things screaming for help as the ceiling rumbled slightly and rocks began showering down. _

_ Bunching and curling up its body, the puddle of a creature inched forward like a slug. The air was comforting and familiar to it, and it was not bright enough to affect the creature's sensitive vision. Even with its recognizable surroundings, the creature still needed a host to live off of if it wanted to live. Not being on its original planet meant that the chances of survival were slim until it could find something to feed on._

_ The sounds of a living, breathing animal echoed in the creature's ears. It dragged its heavy body towards the noise, finding a large wolf-related animal sniffing the ground, its pelt covered in dust and dirt._

_ Without warning, the creature launched itself at the dog. Its white, shapeless body stitched itself together around the terrified animal, covering it entirely and injecting the venom into its system to establish the controlling bond. _

_ The creature took over the dog, now being able to move faster with actual legs. It leaped across the ground, romping back and forth, using its enhanced sense of smell to locate another living being. After a while, another voice echoed out against the cave's walls, high-pitched and feminine._

_ Interested, the creature approached the source of the noise. There was a small figure perched on some rocks, waving around a green light and another figure next to them, taller and more menacing looking. Immediately, the creature could feel the powerful aura radiating from the tall figure. It was drawn to the dominance decided to make them its next target. _

_ The creature ran head-first at the stronger body, clamping its jaws around the wrist, enjoying the feeling of its teeth sinking through soft flesh. It could identify this new 'animal' as what was called a human being. This confused the creature, as humans were generally very weak animals, having to rely on technology to give them any advantage over others. But the atmosphere this being was emitting was full of authority and strength. _

_ The human shrieked and desperately tried to pull away. Eventually the smaller being pushed the creature back with an invisible force. But it was already too late, as the creature had already made its decision._

_ Landing several yards away, the creature severed the bond with the dog and unwrapped itself from its body. Disappearing into the shadows and away from the bright lights, the creature watched as the animal got up, unshaken by the attack and straight away went towards the small human. _

_ The creature moved in its puddle-like form to where the strong human was, hunched over and clutching a bloody appendage in an odd-looking paw. There was a pack sitting on the ground next to them. Going to investigate, the human began to pick it up and sling it over its back. Seizing the opportunity, the creature pushed off the ground and latched onto the bottom of the bag, sticking on tightly and unnoticed. _

_ As the tall human began walking after the animal and smaller friend, the creature felt a jolt of excitement and achievement run through its formless body._

_It was one step closer_.

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**Ta-da! I hope you liked it so far. ;) **

**So the gang is now an official group of rescuing crime-fighters yay! And now since they're all actually together for once, I've got tons of ideas for what I'm going to do about the pairings and whatnot. ;) **

**What's up with that weird creature at the end? I wonder exactly what it is...**

**I would really love hearing some feedback on how things are going so far for everyone, even though it's just the beginning. I think you can tell who the main focus of the story is going to be from the title? Right? :D**

**Okay. I will be seeing you all with the next chapter very soon. Take care! ;)**


	2. Evil at Home

**I would first like to give my condolences and respect to the wonderful Cory Monteith who has recently passed away this weekend. Although his character on _Glee _wasn't my favorite, I could relate to him the most and had a lot in common with Finn Hudson. R.I.P. Cory. You will be missed.**

**This chapter is un-betaed. Sorry Two-Ways-Down-None-To-Go! **

**Thanks to all the awesome people who reviewed the first chapter, I'm glad you guys seem interested in the story already: BADE, Justin Abel, Azkadellio, Bubbles1023, YISBIID, and CheesyDip15. ;) **

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CHAPTER 2

After making sure that the family and their pet were in good hands, Robbie brought the gang back to Orlando. André immediately went off to his laboratory and although Robbie lived in the same direction, he chose to stay with the others for a few minutes. They all headed down to Hawthorn Lake, a beautiful sunset glowing in the reflection of the shimmering water.

Cat was the first one to approach the small waves lapping against the hot gravel of the riverbank, staining the gray rocks and debris black. Robbie chased after her playfully, making sure that she nor he accidentally fell in. Jade, Beck, Trina and Tori remained on the sidewalk ten feet away, quietly discussing amongst themselves.

"That was exciting, right guys?" Tori said, her energy levels impossibly high for someone who had spent the last three hours trekking through a humid underground cave with a possibly bipolar dog and a very grouchy Jade West.

"Shut up," Jade snapped, closing her eyes and leaning back against Beck. "I do not want to hear your obnoxiously high-pitched voice for the next week."

"What? How is this high-pitched?" Tori squealed in alarm, her tone increasing to the pitch Jade had just been talking about.

"_Stop_," Jade whined, covering her ears. Tori pouted and glanced off at Robbie and Cat. Robbie had found a pile of smooth stones and was trying to show Cat how to skip the pebble across the water. Cat gave it her best attempt, but after the rock merely sunk down into the pool, creating a wave of ripples around it, she gave up and came back to the rest of the group.

"Do you want to go to the apartment with me, Cat?" Trina asked.

Cat shook her head.

"Well, I'll be off then," Trina declared, stretching out her arms and accidentally smacking her sister in the head. "You can join me later, or now, Tor. But if I were you, I'd go now. It'd be best to leave these love bugs alone." Trina gestured towards Jade, who was practically asleep in Beck's arms, and Robbie, who was trying to get Cat's attention as she was texting someone on her PearPhone.

"Um, well…" Tori really did want to hang out with her friends for a while longer, but seeing as they were all occupied, she grudgingly said good-bye and followed after her older sister like a puppy.

"Hi, Cat," Robbie said unnecessarily when the girl had put away her phone.

"Hi, Robbie," Cat replied. He opened his mouth to say more but Cat had already darted away, towards the Hawthorn Lake Apartments before stopping to admire the thick green bushes decorated with yellows and reds of the blooming flowers.

"Hey, wake up, babe. Let's go to our apartment." Beck shook Jade in his arms gently.

"I wasn't sleeping," Jade scowled, pulling out of his body and taking his hand, leading him to where Robbie was still chasing after Cat. "Hey, Shapiro! Can you make sure Cat gets to her apartment?"

"Sure thing!" the Dimensioner replied eagerly, catching up to the redhead as Beck and Jade made their way to the stairs of the apartment complex. Robbie tapped on Cat's shoulder and she turned around. "Come on, Cat, I'll take you to your apartment, okay?"

"Kay kay!" Robbie followed the smaller girl up two flights of stairs and all the way down the hall to Tori and Trina's apartment.

Cat was currently living with them, as Jade had decided it would be too dangerous for her to live by herself and didn't trust Robbie or André enough to keep a proper eye on her. Besides that, the Vega sisters were only a few doors down, even after upgrading their apartment to fit the new Predicter and both Beck and Jade agreed this was a much better setup than having Cat live all the way down at André's lab or Robbie's apartment…wherever that was; no one besides Trina had been there.

"The sunset is really pretty today, Robbie," Cat said as they reached her apartment door. She reached into her backpack and pulled out an assortment of random objects trying to find the key.

"It is, isn't it? It's not very often we get to see it since we're always away helping people," Robbie responded as calmly as he could with his heart racing in his chest. "How are Tori and Trina treating you?" he decided to ask.

"Tori is really nice and she makes good food." Cat finally found her key, attached to a silver ring and a plastic framed photo was connected with another chain. Robbie had never gotten a chance to see what the picture was. "Trina is nice to me too, but she doesn't like Tori all the time and is always hypnotizing her into doing chores for her." Cat giggled at the thought. "One time the stovetop broke and—"

"Hey Cat?" Robbie interrupted, unable to contain himself. "Are you busy this Saturday?"

"What?" Cat was startled by the sudden switch in subject. "Um, no, I don't think so. Tori wants us to take a picnic in the park." She shoved the key into the lock and twisted it to the left. "Why do you ask, Robbie? Would you like to join us for a girls' day out?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me on Saturday night. We could go to Paris or something…anywhere you want, really," he said quickly, feeling his face grow hot and sweat beading on his forehead.

"Just you and me?" Cat asked.

"Yes."

"Hee hee," she giggled, giving him that adorable smile he loved to see on her face so much. "Okay, sure, I can go with you. But I would like to go somewhere that serves red velvet cupcakes for dessert, okay?"

"Of course!" Robbie said, relieved that she had agreed.

"Good night, Robbie. I'll see you tomorrow." She opened the door and stepped inside, giving him a small wave before closing it gently.

"Bye Cat," Robbie said a little late as the door was closed before he got the words out. He punched the air and did a little victory dance, very excited from Cat's simple response and he ran the entire way to his apartment. He was just so overwhelmed he forgot that he could've just teleported home.

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After getting to their apartment, Jade tossed her backpack onto the couch unceremoniously. It hit the edge of the armrest and bounced to the floor, where she didn't bother to pick it back up.

"I'm going to take a shower and then I'm going to bed," she announced.

"Don't you want me to make dinner first?" Beck asked, standing at the kitchen table.

"Sure. You can do that if you really want to." Jade headed into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. Beck ruffled hair as the sound of water running filled the apartment. He glanced at the clock, reading that it was eight-thirty. Three-and-a-half more hours and it would be tomorrow.

The most important day of his life.

Gathering up the ingredients to season and bake a chicken, his heart was already pounding just thinking about tomorrow. This was going to be a new, huge step in his life. He placed the materials on the counter and washed his hands, turning the oven on and looking back at the bathroom door. He could hear his girlfriend humming loudly to herself.

She was so perfect and he loved every part of her very much. She wasn't like any other girl he had ever met. She was never afraid to speak her mind and didn't back down from a fight. He admired that in her and enjoyed the challenge of keeping her in check when she did get a little too out of control.

Beck reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small felt-covered box, rubbing his finger around the edge as he opened it slowly and very, _very _carefully. Deeply nestled in the soft white fabric was a silver-banded green ring that winked back at him. It was a jade stone, to go with her name and the fact that she looked really good in green.

He loved her and wanted to go to the next level in their relationship.

He hoped that she wanted to as well.

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Jade came out of the bathroom when the food was just about done cooking in the oven. Her wet hair was splayed against her shirt, dark stains growing on her shoulders. She rubbed it through with a towel one more time before going and sitting down at the kitchen table.

Beck pulled on some gloves and carefully took the platter of poultry out of the oven, setting it on some potholders on the table.

"I made you a chicken," he said proudly.

"Thank you," she said, nothing more, nothing less. She kept her eyes trained on the food, not making contact with him. Beck cut her a big piece and handed it to her on a white plate. She started eating immediately while he sliced his own portion and sat down across from her. They ate in silence, besides the chewing and the noise of a knife and fork scraping across a plate.

"Jade?" Beck said, growing uneasy at the tension.

"Uh-huh?" she mumbled around a mouthful vegetables.

"I love you."

Jade did not say anything at first and Beck's heart was beating anxiously in his chest. She swallowed all of her food and took a sip of milk from her glass before looking directly at him, her steel blue eyes gazing into his brown ones.

"I love you too, Beck."

His cheeks almost fell off after dinner because he couldn't get the smile off his face.

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_The creature enjoyed the long stroll on the human's bag back to where a larger group of the species was standing. They were all radiating a similar, powerful auras, although none were as strong as the creature's current target. The humans chatted with each other their foreign language, each of them giving off a unique scent mixed in with dirt and sweat. The creature could not truly understand anything they were saying, but took note of how each individual was constantly referred to by a single word._

_ The tall human was called "Jade" and her smaller friend was identified as "Tori." The creature could not remember which was which, but it knew that the identification tags of the other five humans in the group were André, Cat, Robbie, Beck and Trina. _

_ There was a male human that stood in the middle of the group and they circled around him, holding out their hands. The human had a tuft of thick, curly hair sitting on top of its head and the ambience he was emitting was nearly as strong as Jade's. He did a trick with his body, causing the entire group to disappear in green smoke. The creature clung onto Jade's pack for its life, feeling its body pushed into different shapes and forms by an invisible force. _

_ When the sensation left, the creature was greeted by a wave of warm heat and humidity. The dark-skinned human left his friends. The creature felt a thud runs through its body; it scrunched up tighter to the backpack in alarm, until it realized that Jade was simply pushing her weight against another male, also with an unruly mane and smelled of tropical fruits. _

_ Although it could not understand what she was saying, the creature could tell that Jade was giving orders to her followers and they were obeying her. The creature was right about Jade being a powerful leader. After a while, Jade and cohorts moved away from the large body of water, splitting up once again, although the fruit-smelling male and Jade were still together. They stomped up a series of steps and entered a cold room._

_ The creature felt its body hurled through the air as the backpack it was on was thrown onto a firm cushion. It collided and bounced off with the force, landing on a wooden floor next to a bulky, fabric-covered object. Jade made no move to pick the bag back up and walked into a smaller room, leaving the male alone._

_ The creature picked up the scent of hot water pounding against metal, as well as a stronger smell of the raw, dead animal the male human was preparing for a meal. Unhooking its body neatly from the backpack, the creature slid under the frame of the fabricated edifice, managing to fit in the few inches beneath the bottom and the ground. Encompassed in the welcoming darkness, the creature relaxed and used its abilities to pick up more information on its current surroundings. _

_ The male human was practically playing with fire as it shoved the dead animal into the burning heat. Turning around, he fiddled with a small black box in his hairless paws. The human was very happy at the moment—the emotion was overwhelming to the creature. It hadn't sensed any specimen feeling this excited in a long time. _

_ The creature gathered up its body and formed a white puddle in the faint darkness with its shapeless body. Deciding to take a rest, it rendered itself motionless as it hid in the black under the upholstered structure._

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**Ooo! Beck! Oh snap! ;) And good luck to Robbie, hahah. :) How many of you saw this happening? I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. It's going to keep getting better, I promise. **

**Thanks for reading, the next chapter will be up as soon as I can edit it! :D**


	3. Birthday Party

**Yay for another update! This story is really going to start picking up speed after this chapter, so prepare yourselves for the ride! :)**

**Thanks to my beta, Two-Ways-Down-None-To-Go. :) And also to the wonderful reviewers: Bubbles1023, Azkadellio, CheesyDip15, and BADE. :)**

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CHAPTER 3

Tori could hear Robbie and Cat talking outside the door of her apartment as she attempted to cook dinner by herself. Trina had gone straight to the shower when they came back and had been in there since, claiming the cave dirt was a nightmare to. Tori wiped her hands on a towel and began setting plates and utensils on the small kitchen table just as the door opened up and she saw Cat waving back at Robbie as he walked away. She closed it behind her and turned to Tori, a strange smile on her face.

"What's up, Cat?" Tori asked curiously.

"Why do you ask?" she squeaked.

"Um, because you've got that weird smile on your face—"

"What smile? I'm not smiling!" she defending, jumping and running into their bedroom.

After being upgraded less than a month ago, their apartment now had a full kitchen, living room, bathroom and two sleeping quarters. Trina demanded she have one all to herself so Tori and Cat had to share the other, not that either of them minded; Tori was glad to have some privacy from her bossy older sister and Cat liked that someone was there to protect her from the monsters in the closet.

"Dinner will be in ten minutes!" Tori called after her. The bathroom door swung open, filling the living room with smoky steam as Trina emerged, dressed in damp casual clothes and a towel wrapped around her head. "Hey, it's about time."

"Yeah, well, I'm still not quite done," Trina replied, plopping down on the worn couch. "I just finished up my hair. I'll need to go back in after dinner and do the rest of my body."

"Aw, come on, now," Tori pouted. "Let Cat or me have a turn too. You're not the only that lives here."

"But I handle the bills and make sure you two always have food and clothes," Trina argued, "so I should get priority over these things, Tori." She picked up her orange PearPhone to play Fruit Ninja.

"You don't even pay for anything," Tori snapped, "André does."

"What? I can't hear you!" Trina shouted as she pushed in her ear buds.

Sighing, Tori resumed setting the table fixtures and cooking dinner. She placed the food on potholders and called for her friend and obnoxious sister to join her. Trina, for once, did not complain on how the spaghetti was cooked (she often had issues with the way Tori boiled the noodles) and Cat was eating normally, not picking at her food like she usually did. The Predicter ate quickly but neatly, placing her utensils on the empty plate and pushing away from the table, bouncing over to the couch and sitting down, turning on the television.

"Did you guys have fun today?" Tori asked as Trina piled up the used dishes and placed them in sink.

"Uh-huh," Cat said, grossly attracted to the Nickelodeon show she was watching.

"I've had better," Trina replied simply. She moved away from the sink and sat down next to Cat on the couch, completely forgetting that it was supposed to be her turn to wash the dishes.

Tori didn't even mind as she continued the conversation. "I'm sure tomorrow's going to be even better," she said enthusiastically, pouring a generous amount of soap in the sink as it filled with water. She pulled on yellow gloves and cranked up the heat, mixing the foamy suds in with the plates.

"Why do you say that?" Trina asked, picking up the remote and opening up the guide on the screen, checking if any movies were currently playing on the cable.

"Did you guys seriously forget what's going to happen tomorrow?"

"It's Jadey's birthday!" Cat exclaimed, turning around to put her hands on the back of the couch and look at Tori.

"And?" Tori waited for another guess, but instead both of them shot her very blank, clueless looks. "Come _on_! Remember what Beck's going to do during the party?"

"Oh _yeah_!" Cat gained a huge burst of energy, flying off the couch and running over to Tori. "Thanks for reminding me! I'm so excited!" She hugged Tori tightly around the waist before backing up and saying seriously, "One time, when I went to my aunt's wedding, they had this big pond of fish and my brother—"

"It's not a wedding, Cat," Trina huffed.

"What?" Cat looked genuinely confused. "But Beck wants Jade to marry him."

"She still has to say yes," Tori informed the girl. "When she does, then we can have the wedding."

Cat's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. "Will there be a fish pond there too, Tori?" she asked eagerly.

Tori laughed. "I don't know. You'll have to put in a request with Beck about that—"

Cat shot towards the door without a second thought and Trina snatched her arm before she could leave the apartment, gently reminding her that the topic of Beck's engagement plans was not to be discussed anywhere at all. Then she told the redhead to take a shower so she could talk with her sister in private. Cat nodded in understanding and hurried to the bathroom.

"Do you really think Jade's going to say yes?" Trina asked seriously when Cat was well out of earshot and they could hear the water running in the shower.

"Of course she will. Why not?" Tori dried off the fourth plate and stacked it alongside the others already in the dish rack.

Trina shrugged, snuggling deeper into the comfortable couch. "Well, if she doesn't, Beck knows that I'll _always _be available for him," she snickered, running a hand through her now-dry, slightly curled locks.

"Just face it, Trina," Tori started, rolling her eyes, "Beck's not into you and never has been."

"Don't jinx it," she smiled, getting up and walking into her bedroom.

"Hey, don't forget we need to be up early tomorrow so we can go down to André's and start setting up for the party!" Tori called after her before the door closed. "Make sure you set your alarm clock for before seven!"

"Whatever!" Trina replied, slamming the door.

Tori finished up with the cleaning and began wiping down the table when Cat came out of the bathroom, dressed in a purple and pink pajama top and gray sweatpants. She offered to help Tori who reclined and told her to go to bed. Cat said good-night to her and disappeared into their shared bedroom.

Alone in the living room, Tori fixed up the couch, re-adjusting the pillows and turning off the TV. Taking one last glance that everything was back in neat order, she went off to take her own shower and get ready for the exciting day tomorrow.

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Bright and early the next morning, Tori's alarm went off at six and she spent ten minutes trying to get Cat out of bed. Trina completely ignored Tori's attempts to wake her, even when Tori blared music in her ears and smacked her repeatedly in the head with a pillow. Using her power to an unfair advantage, Trina hypnotized Tori into leaving her bedroom and continuing on with her day which allowed her to sleep in for an extra forty-five minutes. By the time Tori had broken out of the trance, it was already fifteen past seven and they were going to be late to André's, so she dragged Trina out of her bed with her own Kinecter powers and they left the apartment quickly.

Robbie was already there, his hair combed down for once, and André was still dressed in his pajamas. Beck was going to bring Jade a little later, after they had morphed the laboratory to look like a party room.

"It's so _early_," Trina whined, slumping down in the nearest chair and lolling her head on her chest. "Why couldn't we have an afternoon celebration instead or something?"

"You got to sleep in an extra forty-five minutes," Tori snapped, "Stop complaining." She perched on a folding stool, starting to drape blue streamers across the doorway and walls. Robbie brought in a long collapsible table from the other room with André's help and Cat was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Cat?" Tori called from her post, tearing off a piece of streamer from the roll in her hand.

"She's getting our clothes ready for later," André answered. "Hey, did you guys eat breakfast? I have some bagels in the back if you didn't." Trina got up at the mention of food and didn't bother bringing out any for the rest of her friends.

When Tori was done with the streamers, she helped Robbie cover the plain table with a fancy green cloth and set up silverware and plates. Cat re-appeared after a while and started pushing André's gadgets and other furniture out of the way and into the corners of the room.

They worked for a full hour until the big room started showing signs of progress. The walls were decorated in bright colors and Robbie was attempting to hang his silver disco ball in the middle of the ceiling. André set up a mini DJ booth where the computers normally were and he forced Trina into helping him adjust the speakers. Tori and Cat had both gone out to get the food for the party, which included full course meal trays and desserts from seven different stores.

At about nine-thirty, everything looked good and they all gathered in the middle to admire their handiwork.

"Looks good, you guys," André complimented. "I didn't know my lab could look this pretty." Cat had decided to add several vases of green flowers to the room's décor and one on the table, near the seat where Jade would be sitting.

"I'll call Beck and let him know we're done," Robbie offered, pulling out a purple PearPhone.

"Everyone remembers the plan right? And you all know when we're going to change and everything?" André asked, rubbing his hands together in excitement. They all nodded, smiles covering their faces.

"Beck says they're on their way right now!" Robbie called out, shoving his phone into his back pocket.

"Let's get this party started!"

Cat scrambled to turn off the lights in the big room and everyone quickly found their hiding spots: André pressed himself up against a wall, Tori squeezed under a table, Trina hunched over in a chair, and Cat was planking in the middle of the floor.

Robbie was behind the door, mumbling something to himself before opening it slightly and poking his head out. Tori could hear him talking to Beck and Jade. The Dimensioner was stalling for as long as he could and Tori knew that Jade would grow very impatient with him.

"Will you let us in, Robbie?" Jade growled. "It's my birthday, if you've forgotten!" She pushed the skinny boy out of the way and shouldered the door wide open. The lights blinked on and everyone popped up and out of their hiding places, screaming at the top of their lungs:

"HAPPY TWENTY-FOURTH BIRTHDAY JADE!"

Jade stopped in her tracks, stunned as everyone hurried over to congratulate her on living through another year. Beck and Robbie walked in behind her with Beck laughing loudly, a huge smile plastered on his face.

André came over with a paper party hat that read 'Birthday Girl' and placed it on her head, wrapping the elastic band around her chin. Surprisingly, Jade did not fight back.

"How cute," Trina said, already sitting at the large table with her hands folded in front of her. "I'm digging the look Jade. It really works for you. It kind of makes you seem like an innocent little girl instead of a grumpy, old ad—"

"Shut up, Trina," Jade growled, now ripping the hat off her head. André grumbled before going off to find another one he could put back on.

"Happy birthday, babe!" Beck crowed, pecking her on the cheek quickly before taking a hand and guiding her to the head of the table, where he sat down on her right. Everyone gathered around to get their own seats. Tori noticed how André and Robbie were practically fighting each other to sit on Cat's empty side, as Trina was already on her left. Eventually André won and Robbie sighed and dimensioned to sit across from them instead.

Once everyone was seated, Beck broke the silence with the first step of his plan.

"Ah, shoot. I left the cake in the apartment."

"So go get it," Trina said, picking at her nails. "Because you can't have a party without cake." Tori thought her acting was actually very convincing; in fact, it didn't even look like she was trying. Oh, that probably meant she wasn't and was just being her regular, annoying Trina self.

"Jade," Beck leaned over, breathing in her ear. "Do you want to go back to our apartment and get the cake out of the fridge?"

"No friggin' way," she replied, pushing him away. "Make Robbie get it. He'll be faster than me."

"I don't have keys," Robbie said quickly.

"You don't need them. Just dimension into the apartment. It's not like we have an alarm or anything and I actually trust you enough to not steal any of our belongings," Jade continued.

"But—"

Jade shook her head. "Hey, kid, how about you go?"

Tori gaped, struggling to come up with a reasonable excuse. "Uhm, well I don't have the key…" Suddenly, Jade chucked a pointy object at her that landed in her lap. Tori reached down and picked it up.

"Now you do."

"Are you sure you trust me enough to go into your apartment, by _myself_—"

"For the love of God, can someone other than me go and get the dang cake?" Jade shouted, leaning back in her chair until it tilted up on its back legs. "It's my birthday. I shouldn't have to do anything I don't want to."

"Hmm, I guess you're right," Beck agreed, but made no move to get up. Instead he caught Trina's attention and gave her a nod of his head. He knew that it wasn't going to be easy to get Jade to leave the laboratory briefly, so he had come up with several plans that they could use.

Trina winked back at him and sat straight up. "So I guess no one's going to get the cake, huh?" she said, pulling out her PearPhone. "Well, while we're waiting, I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea to play some music." She opened up the music app and turned it on full volume, the little device blaring out one of Trina's favorite songs, so—as everyone in the room knew—she had to start singing along.

"All I wanna know is when we're letting go so we can get this record to break…" Trina sang out in the most ear-bleeding, eye-rolling, out-of-tune voice Tori had ever heard before. She cringed and quickly covered her eyes, secretly admiring how Trina could make her voice sound so convincingly horrible. "_Why we wasting time? We never can rewind. All I'm really trying to say_…" Trina increased the volume of her voice until it was echoing in the entire room.

"Trina, there's no need to be so loud," André yelled, his hands clamped over his own ears.

"_SO SHUT UP AND DANCE, SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT_!"

Robbie slumped over in his chair, his forehead against the table and even Cat looked like she was in actual physical pain from Trina's awful voice.

"On second thought, let me go get the cake!" Beck screamed as Trina started the next verse. Jade stood up faster than he did and pushed him back in his seat.

"Nope! I'm going! All of you can stay here and listen to Miss Screech-Bot sing her little heart out!" Jade laughed and ran out the room. As soon as the door had slammed shut, Trina stopped singing and turned off her music.

"You're welcome."

"Okay, team! She's going to be back any minute so let's fix everything up!" Everyone ran to help. The lights were dimmed to a romantic level and Robbie brought out an armful of candles, setting them up on the table as Cat re-arranged the flowers and André chose some soft, melodic songs to play from the speakers.

Then everyone went to get changed. All of the girls went to the back to put on the dark blue satin dresses Beck had picked out a few weeks ago. André and Robbie tore off their clothes to reveal the gray suits they were wearing underneath, complete with knotted ties and buttoned shirts.

Even though it wasn't the actual wedding, Beck hoped that asking Jade in a white suit and with all of his friends dressed up would help her see him as sophisticated and classy, instead of the overprotective goofball he usually was.

"Are you nervous, man?" André asked as Beck peeled off his jacket and pants, adjusting his new dress belt and tie. The girls were already starting to come back out, each of them appropriately dressed in beautiful clothes.

"A little, yeah."

"Why?"

"Uhm, I don't know, I guess I'm just worried about her answer—"

"Dude." André grabbed each of his shoulders and looked him directly in the eye. "You love her, right?" Beck nodded furiously. "And she loves you too?" Beck nodded again. "If you two are meant to be together—which you obviously are—then there's absolutely nothing to worry about. You hear me?" He gave Beck a hearty slap on the back.

"You'll be fine, Beck," Tori assured.

"Yeah," Robbie added, "You guys are like, in total love with each other."

Beck's eyes twinkled as everyone sat back down at the table. He took the black felt box out of his pocket and opened it up, revealing the stunning green ring sitting inside.

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_The creature was now alone in the dwelling of Jade and her male friend, whom she identified as 'Beck' several times. In the previous hours, the creature had caught the two passionately colliding the lower holes in their faces together as they both radiated auras of affection and concern. It was an odd sight and feeling, something that the creature had never experienced before. _

_ The creature lay under the upholstered structure, not knowing what to do next. It was not afraid but only confused. _Where had Jade and Beck gone? Would they come back_?_

_Just as these thoughts entered the creature's mind, the portal to the room opened up, and behold, Jade appeared. There was no one with her. She crossed the threshold and waltzed into the food room, opening up the large, cold metal box and taking out a smaller cardboard one, mumbling words to herself._

_ The creature realized that this was its chance._

_ It was now or never. _

_As Jade walked by the creature's hiding place, she dropped something to the floor and accidentally kicked it towards the creature. The creature felt the cold metal bite into its body and heard Jade's mumbling grow louder. She put down the box on the nearby table and kneeled down, swiping her hand under the bulky object to grab what she had dropped._

_ And the creature struck._

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**Lots of different character interactions, if you noticed them all. ;)**

**And what about that creature, huh? Scary stuff. **

**Thanks for tuning in! I will see you all very soon. :D**


	4. Something Else

**Sorry this chapter is a little on the short side, but I can assure you that every word is super important! :D**

**Enjoy everyone. Welcome to the beginning of the wildest ride the _Caliber _series has ever seen.**

**Thanks to my wonderful beta! :D**

**THANK YOU REVIEWERS: Azkadellio, Bubbles1023, Incognito, BADE, and CheesyDip15. I always love hearing from you all! ;)**

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CHAPTER 4

Jade wrenched the back door open, cringing at the sound of Trina's loud voice as she leaped out into the back alley. Shaking her head, she began the walk back to Hawthorn Lake Apartments, beginning to relax as the birds chirped while they flew past and cars zoomed up and down the streets. This was a familiar sight to her.

Arriving at her apartment, she reached into her pocket, realizing that she had left the key with Tori at the laboratory. Smacking her forehead in frustration, she went hunting for the spare key that was taped under the railing of the balcony in front of the apartment. She peeled off the sticky strip and grabbed the key, going back to the door and inserting it into the lock and pushing the door open.

The inside was unusually cold, almost like Beck had forgotten to turn it off this morning. Walking over to the fridge, Jade opened it up and searched for the big white cardboard box that held her expensive cake that was ordered almost a month ago but had just been delivered yesterday. It was wedged carefully between the top shelf and ceiling, partially blocking the single light. She attempted to wiggle it out, inch by inch, almost dropping it to the floor when she lost her grip on the heavy box.

She finally got it out and kicked the fridge door closed, leaving the kitchen and crossing the living room. Balancing the cake dangerously in one hand, she stuck the other one in her pocket trying to fish out the key at the same time. This proved to be a bad move when she lost her grip on both items; prioritizing her belongings in a split second, she wrapped both hands around the cake box and let the key fall to the floor. Her right knee shot up to cushion the key's landing, but it did the opposite and sent the object flying beneath the couch.

"Aw, come _on_," Jade groaned, setting the cake down gently on the coffee table before getting down on all fours. She laid the side of her head against the floor, peering underneath to look for the glint of the key. Seeing nothing but darkness, she edged closer and stuck her left hand under, swiping it back and forth, her fingers searching for the recognizable, clean edges of the key.

However, her hand did not touch the key. Instead, she felt something shockingly ice cold and gooey flow between her fingers. Retracting her arm back in alarm, she looked down at them and saw that they were covered with a white substance.

All of a sudden, a puddle of white goop slid out from under the couch. Jade fell backwards on her hands as the puddle moved closer and closer to her. Some of it made contact with her right boot and started climbing along the surface, wrapping tightly against the fabric of her pants as it inched upwards. Its white color slowly faded into the exact print of her blue jeans.

Panicking, Jade tried to pry it off, realizing that the white on her hand was growing up her arm, squeezing against her bare skin like a glove, changing its color tone to match hers. Her free arm went to down to rip and tear at the goo as it now covered both of her legs below the knees, pinning her feet to the floor and ascending higher still, beyond her waist and up her torso.

"Oh god," she cried out in fear, "What is this?" The slime stitched over her bicep and shoulder, crawling across her chest. Some of it spread down to connect with the goo already on her stomach and another bit weaved its way to her other arm. Jade found it harder and harder to fight back; it was like she was being forced into a strait jacket.

Her breathing grew rapid as she used her only free limb to claw at the slime. It blended in so well with her body that she could not distinguish which parts had been covered or were still free. She tore viciously at her own skin, drawing blood at some parts which dripped to the carpet in little spatters.

Jade's fingers caught a notch in the goo wrapping around her stomach and she pulled back hard, watching in horror as the substance stretched apart, flashing as its white color. She could see what looked like sticky 'threads' snapping and breaking before it overcame her strength and stitched itself back together.

The matter inched up her throat and reached her face. Her arms were being held against the ground now and were useless for anything. Jade threw her head back and forth as the substance slithered up her chin and the back of her neck, crawling to her scalp and wrapping each individual hair in a network of complex strands. It covered her ears, blocking out her sense of hearing.

Her head slammed into the floor involuntarily, making her see stars. The goo covered her mouth and cheeks, slowly moving up her nose and down her forehead. She continued looking helplessly at the ceiling as the substance stitched itself together over her eyes, making her vision go black. Thrashing as hard as she could, she made one last struggle.

There was deep stabbing pain in the side of her neck.

And Jade West lost control.

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_The creature was beyond excited. Although the process itself had taken a little longer than it had hoped, Jade had proved herself to be a fighter and now it had completed the bond with her. The body beneath went limp as the creature took control of her mind._

_Through the bond, the creature forced Jade to stand up, becoming accustomed to the new height and functions of the human's body. Searching through her brain and its recent memories and thoughts, the creature knew immediately what it had to do and where it had to go before it accomplished any of its personal plans. _

_Retrieving the box of food from the table, the creature took a few awkward steps forward, opening the door and stepping outside. Standing in the open sunlight was a whole new experience for the creature. In Jade's body, the light and heat had almost no strong effect on it. In fact, it felt a pleasant sensation of warmth instead. If the creature had been in its natural form out here, it surely would've been killed by now. _

_ Proceeding to go through Jade's memories of the past half-hour again, the creature clumsily led her body down the steps of the building and out onto a cement walkway where many other humans were bustling about on. _

_ The creature was no longer surprised to notice that Jade had a much more powerful aura than these other humans. It had learned to accept the fact that it had made a truly excellent choice of human as it continued walking, making no contact with anyone. The creature turned down a dark alleyway, using the picture from Jade's mind to determine that it was the right place. According to her past and recent memories, there was supposed to be a portal here to get into a secret room. However, the creature saw nothing but a wall of red stacked blocks, glued to each with a cement filling covered in splotches of a thick, green vegetation. _

_ Looking through more of Jade's mind, the creature managed to locate the entryway, which blended in so well it looked just like the wall. Jade's memories contained an image in which the door had a handle sticking out, but the creature saw none. Instead, it used one of Jade's two hairless paws to bang a few times on the compact blocks. _

_ The door mysteriously opened, revealing a dark hallway and the creature stepped inside without hesitation._

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Everyone froze when they first heard Jade knock on the door. Robbie darted forward to open it while everyone else remained sitting at the table, neatly dressed in their new clothes and waiting anxiously. Beck was at the head, his hands bouncing nervously in his lap, fingers wrapped around the felt box.

Suddenly Jade stepped in the room, her hands holding the container of cake. Tori chewed on her lip nervously; Jade's face showed absolutely no emotion as she took a few teetering steps forward and set the box down on the table. Everyone was quiet as she stood still for a moment, glancing at each of their faces and seeming to process them. Finally she sat down gingerly in the only empty seat. Beck dropped to one knee by her side. Jade tilted her head down at him, looking practically confused as to what was going on.

"Jade," Beck began, his voice trembling, "I just want to start by saying thank you for everything you've done for me. We met for the first time over six years ago and the first thing I told you was that you were an extraordinary caliber. Even though you didn't know what it meant at the time and you called me crazy and threw your sandwich at me, that was the moment my life took a new turn." Trina muffled a laugh into her napkin. "It took us a while to become actual friends and grow close, but every minute of the experience was well worth it."

Tori looked curiously at Jade. She was avoiding eye contact with Beck completely, uneasily twitching her hands in her lap, rubbing her knees and tapping her foot. Beck seemed to be ignoring these nervous tics as he went off with the rest of his speech.

"We finally started dating and I could already feel how perfect we were for each other. Even after we went through Rebellion and Archelaus and were separated for six years, I was never interested in another woman, even though I couldn't remember who you were. When we finally found each other again I…kind of punched your face in but you didn't give up and came back and we were reunited once again." Beck's voice was growing stronger and his lips were curled into a smile.

"I know that we argue a lot and sometimes can never seem to get along, but I never stop loving you, Jade. Of course no couple is perfect, but I dunno, I think we're as perfect as it gets." Beck's brown eyes grew misty. He blinked and looked down at the floor before looking back at his girlfriend, his eyes struggling to lock onto hers though she still refused. "I want to be with you for as long as I live. Jade West, would you like to be mine forever and marry me?"

Beck brought a hand from behind his back, popping open the tiny box to reveal the gorgeous jade ring.

His words and actions were met with a dead silence. Jade stood up in her chair so quickly it tipped backwards and hit the floor with a crash. Tori saw her fists clenched by her sides, her knuckles looking like they were going to punch right through the pale skin. Her jaw was set, teeth mashed together and her eyes flared with anger.

Then it looked like she started to have a seizure. Her head shook from the left to the right and her eyes squeezed shut. She was biting her bottom lip so hard droplets of blood appeared on the torn skin. Tori saw her left knee bend, like she was about to stamp her foot in frustration. Her tongue darted out of her mouth to lick her bloody lips and she slammed her right fist into the side of her thigh, odd growling noises coming out of her mouth and her face was scrunched up in concentration.

Finally she went still, adjusting her posture and wiping the foam of white and red from her chin. She smiled instead and stared down calmly at Beck, blinking once before saying in a disgustingly calm manner:

"No."

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**...**

**So I bet some of you saw that coming and some of you didn't. Are you excited now or what? ;)**


	5. What's Wrong with You?

**Hi everyone! :) Junior year just started for me and I already want it to be over already. AUGH. Too much stuff to think about. :|**

**So I left you guys on kind of a cliffy last chapter and I sort of do so again on this one...sorry. The storyline starts picking up here (finally). **

**Thanks to reviewers: Azkadellio, BADE, RedVelvetCake, CheesyDip15 and Bubbles1023.**

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CHAPTER 5

Jade turned and sprinted out of the room.

Beck's jaw hit the floor. André pushed his chair away from the table but could not find the strength to get out of it. Cat's eyes grew as wide as saucers and even Trina wore a look of shock. Robbie's head whipped around to get a glance at everyone's similar reaction as his own mouth hung open.

Tori was the only one who managed to get up and run after her friend. Her heeled shoes scraped across the slick tiles as she raced towards the door, wrenching it open and throwing herself outside. Her head twisted to the right and left and she caught a glimpse of Jade's dark hair around the corner of the building.

"Jade!" she yelled, her voice hoarse. "Jade, wait!" Tori stumbled over herself before she decided to take off her heels completely, the ground hot and textured beneath her feet. She exited the alley onto the main sidewalk, her head pivoting back and forth in search of the Regenator.

Jade was standing a hundred yards away on the sidewalk next to a parked red BMW. Tori called out her name, waving frantically at her but Jade didn't acknowledge that she had seen her. Tori started to run towards her as Jade's left hand shot out and gripped the car's passenger door handle, pulling it outwards and diving inside.

An unsuspecting owner and his fiancé had been talking to each other in the front seat and Tori heard several shouts of confusion as the people tumbled out of the car onto the sidewalk, flustered and bewildered. The man pushed himself up, hurrying over to the side of his vehicle as Jade turned the key in its slot and the engine roared anxiously.

"Hey, what are you doing?" the man hollered, his fingers reaching out for his car but missed as Jade pulled away from the curb, zooming out onto the street. Cars behind her screeched and honked as she ignored all traffic regulations and sped down the road.

Tori stood there helplessly, trying to figure out how she was going to catch up with Jade. But by now the red car had made an illegal U-turn—almost running into a streetlight at the same time—and was rushing towards her. Tori could see Jade through the windshield; hunched over the steering wheel uncomfortably, her face contorted in concentration and her eyes had sunk into her head. Snapping out of her daze, Tori approached the side of the road just as Jade was about to pass her.

Sticking out a hand, Tori focused deeply on the BMW and forced it to come to an abrupt halt. The wheels jammed by the invisible force, tires digging into the asphalt and leaving behind burning skid marks. The car squealed out and there was a loud, shattering crash; Jade flew out of her seat due to her lack of a safety belt and sailed twenty feet through the air before hitting the ground, sliding for another ten before lying motionless at the crosswalk of a busy four-way intersection.

There was silence as people tried to process what they had just witnessed and only a few began to approach Jade's unconscious form. Tori felt guilt gnawing at her throat as she moved to join them, wringing her hands and nervous that she might have seriously hurt Jade. Cars came to shrill stops, trying to avoid the humans dodging in front of them, trying to get a look at the action. The red BMW sat in the middle of the road, its tires practically smoking and its worried owner ran towards it cautiously, his fiancé in tow.

"Hey, someone call 911!"

"Should we move her out of the way?"

"Is she dead?"

Tori elbowed people in the ribs as she pushed through the throng to reach Jade. Suddenly, the circle around her friend moved back and Tori fell to the ground in the confusion. Shoving at strangers' legs, she saw that Jade was starting to get up, a thick trail of blood making its way down her cheek from a nasty gash in her forehead. Jade pushed people around as she stood up, her left leg shaking violently. She wiped at a scrape on her chin, grabbing onto the nearest human for support.

"Hey, take it easy, girl—"

"Jade!" Tori screamed and Jade's head snapped in her direction. Panic covered her features and in the next second she darted away from the crowd, practically dragging her broken left leg behind her. No one chased after her but Tori, many stunned from the sight of a strange girl moving so quickly after a dangerous car accident.

Tori gave up after running a few dozen yards, her feet hurting and her heart shaking. Something was seriously wrong with Jade. Why would she say no to Beck, run away and then steal someone's car?

There was a bang and Tori turned her head towards the familiar noise. A cloud of green smoke rose from a place behind a parked silver car. Robbie stood up, he was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, a second set of clothes draped over his arm and a pair of tennis shoes in his right hand.

"Tori!" he called out in relief, running towards her and shoving the items into her chest. "I got these for you since I thought you be more comfortable in case we had to—which way did Jade go?"

"That way." Tori jabbed her thumb in the direction the Regenator had fled. She sat down on the edge of the sidewalk, pulling on the shoes and draping the jacket over her shoulders to make herself feel more comfortable. "I have absolutely no idea what's up with her. First she hijacked a red BMW and I had to use my powers to get her out." Tori shook her head grimly. "After she smashes through the windshield and is unconscious for several minutes, she gets up and runs again when I call her name."

Robbie nodded in understanding. "Everyone is still in the lab. No one can move it seems. You're the first one to leave. I think Beck is having an emotional breakdown right now but I got away and grabbed these clothes. We have to find Jade and bring her back, especially since the others are a bit incapacitated at the moment."

"I hope we'll be able to catch up with her," Tori stated hopefully.

"We can try."

The pair headed off in the direction Tori had seen Jade leave. Traffic started to build up on either side of the road, cars angrily honking their horns at each other to see what the hold-up was. A news van sped by, trying to get a firsthand look at the action.

The sun rose higher in the sky and Tori was sweating under her jacket. Robbie wiped at his brow, staining his gray sleeve black. Their eyes and ears strained to keep alert on any sign of Jade, but unfortunately had not caught sight of her yet. Both of them had left their PearPhones at André's and had no other means of communication unless they headed back personally, which they could not risk doing at this crucial time.

"How far could she possibly get if she was thrown through a windshield?" Robbie wheezed.

They were at the border of the city now, about half a mile away from the bridge that crossed over famous Loblolly River. The river actually ran all the way to Hawthorn Lake and was a popular tourist attraction, allowing guests to take scheduled canoeing trips down the smooth waves to the lake. In spite of recent events, Tori recalled the one time she had agreed to go paddle-boating with her friends down the river; Jade had a boat all to herself and somehow managed to flip everyone else's over but her own and paddled away in victory while they floated down to Hawthorn Lake. Tori smiled at the memory, wondering what had happened to that Jade.

"Hey, look!" Robbie cried suddenly, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Tori's head snapped up and together they looked at a figure crouched against the guard fencing of the Loblolly River bridge. The person had an arm wrapped around their waist and the other was held above their head to hold onto the rail.

"Do you think that's Jade?"

"Possibly. Let's be quiet when we approach her."

Forcing down her excitement, Tori led the way towards Jade's huffing, prone form. She could feel Robbie breathing down her neck as they carefully moved closer to the Regenator. Reaching the sidewalk of the bridge, Tori stopped in her tracks. Jade lay on the concrete several dozen yards away. She held her left knee up to her chest, the jean around the area soaked in blood.

"Jade?" Tori said softly.

Jade opened her eyes, head turning to look at Tori.

"Are you okay?"

The caliber staggered up, leaning to her right side as Tori took a few steps forward, Robbie still at her heels. "Jade, what's wrong?" The Regenator shook her head, continuing to back up the closer they got to her. Tori stuck her hand out and Robbie halted behind her. They were less than ten feet apart now. Jade cocked her head, staring at them strangely before turning her body sideways towards them, parallel to the bridge's barrier. Her hands gripped the smooth steel hand bar, pulling herself up and slinging one leg over the fence.

"Don't do that," Tori warned.

Jade lifted her other leg onto the top so that she was balancing dangerously on the thin inches of edging, her back facing her friends. Tori knew from experience that the water below was unusually deep for a river, which is why most jumpers died from drowning rather than the fall itself. She had no idea what that would mean for Jade, depending on how she hit the water.

Robbie moved close to the fence, preparing to jump off himself and use his powers to save Jade if needed.

Jade swung her legs back and forth teasingly, the muscles in her arms flexing as she shimmied her body off the tiny platform. People began to take notice of what was going on; they were all stopped in their tracks and staring intently at the three.

"Jade," Tori said, holding out an arm. "Stop."

"Sorry, kid." Jade's lips curved into a wicked smile and she pushed off of the bridge. Tori heard people scream in shock and Robbie dove into action, hurling himself after her.

It was less than a fifty foot drop, with more than fifteen feet of cushioning at the bottom, but Jade was bending her body into a streamline form to speed up her fall so Robbie couldn't catch her. Tori watched as they descended in slow-motion. Robbie clumsily spun in frantic circles, once trying to dimension from above to a lower position but his arms missed Jade by centimeters. He was too late and Jade hit the water with a neat splash. He dimensioned before reaching the water himself and came back next to Tori.

"I'm sorry," he apologized immediately.

"It doesn't matter." Tori brushed him off. "I can't see her anymore anyway." They strained their necks to see Jade. A huge set of ripples emanating from her landing spot created a wide, painfully obvious remainder that their friend was nowhere to be seen, the small waves reaching the banks of the river and pulling down scoopfuls of sand and gravel.

"Was that the same girl that flew out of her car?"

Pedestrians gathered around the bridge's railing, each of them trying to see over the edge and where Jade had mysteriously disappeared. Robbie tugged on Tori's arm and pulled her away from the crowd, hoping that nobody would notice them.

"Come on, Tori," he said, "The river leads to Hawthorn Lake, remember? We can get the others and wait down there for her. Plus, she's got a chip in her stomach that André can track if necessary. Don't worry." Tori nodded numbly, dumbstruck, as they walked off the bridge and down to her apartment.

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**Not too bad, right? ;) We got a better glimpse of what the creature is doing to Jade. Scary stuff.**


	6. Disconnected

**Did anyone miss me? It's been a lot longer than I anticipated. Sorry! :( School has been destroying me. **

**Thanks to the reviewers: Azkadellio, Bade, CheesyDip15, LiTtLemIsSnOtPerfect22 and Bubbles1023. And also my beta (not sure if this is still her username), Two-Ways-Down-None-To-Go or Skyler. :) Thank you everyone!**

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CHAPTER 6

_A cold, slimy liquid enveloped the creature. Bubbles blocked its hazy vision as it looked around, slightly dazed by the fall. There was a tightening in the creature's chest; it did not know how to get rid of the feeling as it made Jade's paws slice effortlessly through the fluid around it. _

_The pain grew and the creature could feel Jade's body becoming slow and sluggish to respond to its actions. Having an idea of what Jade needed, the creature forced her to kick with her legs and propel towards the surface, breaking the water and instinctively taking a deep breath of air. The pain dissolved after several seconds of bobbing up and down in the large body of water beneath the structure the creature had leaped off of. _

_The creature dog paddled to the riverbank, clumsy and still unaccustomed to the way the human's body worked. It dragged itself up the sand and dirt, dripping water onto the pebbles and staining them black. Jade's clothes, wrapped tightly to her body underneath the creature's covering, weighed them down considerably with the amount of water they had soaked up. The creature did not want to remove them in the risk that it would sever their bond, so they would have to deal for now. _

_Sitting down on the damp ground, the creature took a minute to assess its surroundings and devise a new plan. Apparently they had floated down the river for a long ways; the bridge was now a miniature structure in the distance, casting a dark shadow over the flowing water. _

_Behind the creature stood large expanse of densely collected trees, the perfect area to stake a hideout if needed. The scents of fresh pine and evergreen wafted from the forest and the creature turned its head in that direction, admiring the view, when suddenly, a sharp pain attacked Jade's body._

_The discomfort persisted for a few more seconds, an unsettling burn creeping up in its belly. Finally it stopped but the creature was already alert to the situation. Placing Jade's paws against her midsection, the creature pushed around to find the sore spot. The pain pulsed again and faded away._

_Confused, the creature pressed its hand harder into Jade's body. Something was vibrating beneath the skin. The creature's mind immediately searched through some of Jade's previous memories for what it might be. The creature was not pleased by what it found._

_Human technology had been inserted into Jade's stomach and at this moment could be tracking their location. This matter could not be put off. The creature needed to act now. _

_ Staggering up, the creature ran head-first into the forest, in search of sharp branches and a quiet place to hide._

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Robbie and Tori burst into André's lab, the door slamming so hard against the wall it almost broke Robbie's nose with the rebound. They found their friends sadly cleaning up the remains of the party supplies, the food stored away, tables and chairs stacked neatly in the corner, and the walls stripped of their decorations.

The pair quickly explained to everyone what Jade had done outside. Beck nearly lost his head when they told him Jade jumped off a bridge and he had to be restrained in a chair for the rest of the conversation. No one knew what to say when they were finished.

Trina decided on the conclusion that Beck had asked Jade too early, especially after they had only just been re-united a few months prior. Her comment turned heads and Tori made her sit outside for the rest of the chat. Cat claimed that she did not have any visions including Jade, but promised to keep an eye out for her future now, which unfortunately wasn't looking too good. André went to go check on Jade's stats and location, hoping that it would give them a clue as to her dramatic change in behavior.

"She's not dead!" André shouted. "She's staking out on the riverbank of the Loblolly. Should we approach her?" All eyes trained on Beck. He pushed himself back in the chair, taking a deep sigh and shaking his shaggy hair.

"No…just…leave her be for a little bit. Maybe that's what she needs."

"Okay, if you insist—" André was interrupted by a low beeping buzzing from the speakers. "Huh, what's this?" The outline of Jade's body had red flags decorated around the middle of her torso, right about where the location of the chip was. "What is she doing?"

The screen blurred and started to freeze up. André pounded the controls, trying to figure out what was going on. Beck leaped out of the seat and stood next to him, eyes bouncing around the malfunctioning monitor. Suddenly, the image of Jade disappeared, although the chip continued to track its own whereabouts. It was still near Loblolly River.

"Robbie, get over there right now," André said, his tone laced with panic.

"I don't understand what's going on," Robbie replied simply.

"Look at the screen!" André yelled. "Hurry _up_, Robbie." Beck took a step towards the confused Dimensioner, his eyes never leaving the computer. "Oh no, how is she doing—ROBBIE GO!" he roared.

Robbie squeaked hurriedly, stringing his words into a jumble as he roughly snatched up the younger Vega's arm and dimensioned her and himself to the river. Collapsed on soft, wet dirt, the waves lapping gently at the bank, Tori realized Robbie was not with her. She called out for him several times, but upon receiving no response, realized glumly that she would have to make the trek through the forest and back to the lab by herself.

The Kinecter swallowed her emotions and moved to enter through the throng of branches. Her foot slipped in something slimy after she made her first step; she frantically reached out to grab support before landing on her butt.

"Aw," she sighed, brushing dirt off the seat of her pants and rising once more. However, as she swiped her shoe across the ground and noticed the strange, sticky substance still attached to her sole, she got down immediately to investigate.

She had stepped in a dark red puddle by accident. A few feet away lay a stick that had obviously been stripped of its leaves and twigs and had its sharper end covered in the same liquid.

_That was blood, wasn't it_?

Jade must've been here moments ago. Taking a single, cautious step forward, Tori's shoe landed on a small object that crunched sickly as she pushed her foot down. Recoiling once more, she knelt down and saw that it was a tiny silver chip. André's microchip. The one he had inserted into her own and Jade's stomach.

Tori's head swiveled back to look at the bloody stick. She connected her findings and felt like vomiting at the realization. Wiping at her forehead, she yelled Robbie's name again, but like earlier, there was no answer. Tori continued through the forest, her senses trained for any sign of unusual movement.

The overhead branches filtering in little light rustled and she paused, body tense. It must have just been the wind. Curling her hands into fists, she walked at a brisk pace but was interrupted by a large body dropping down from above.

Jade West landed heavily on the dirt but recovered quickly, rising up to full height. She wasn't that much taller than Tori, yet Tori felt incredibly intimidated by the menacing figure in front of her. Tori could not see Jade's eyes due to the poor lighting, but had a feeling they were currently trained on her. Jade's lips curled into a lazy half-smile, flashing white teeth and she cocked her head to the right.

Tori's eyes immediately zoned in on Jade's left side, which was entirely drenched in blood, along with the beltline of her jeans. Her jacket and shirt had been torn to reveal a sliver of pale skin with a tight pink line disappearing vertically up the rest of her clothes.

"What's wrong, kid?" Jade spoke, her voice unusually rough and gravelly, as if she had a sore throat.

"Nothing. What's up with you?" Tori responded, not missing a beat. She wondered if now would be a good time to call for Robbie.

"Are you afraid of me?" she asked out of the blue.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Tori asked, confused, but she was determined to get an answer out of Jade first. "Why did you say no to Beck?"

Jade stood there blinking, looking as if she did not understand what Tori had asked. Shaking her head, she extended her right arm towards Tori, the sleeve stained at the end with blood. "You're here to bring me back to the others. So go on."

Tori refused to move. She needed to determine what was causing Jade to act so strangely. Staring down at the dangling hand in front of her, Tori contemplated her options: either grab Jade and hope that she could take her back to the lab without a struggle, or, scream for Robbie like earlier planned.

She wanted very much to take Jade—she could already see the shocked looks on her friends' faces when she dragged the delirious Regenator through the door. Beck no doubt would get up and thank her profusely for reuniting him with his girlfriend. André would run tests and try to figure out what had happened that caused the change in Jade's behavior. All of this would happen because of her—Tori Vega.

"Don't you want to be the hero?" Jade interrupted Tori's thoughts.

Tori felt herself shrink away from her. How did Jade know she had thought up a scenario in which she was the star that everyone gave praise to and appreciated? It had actually been a secret of Tori's for a while. On every mission they had gone on, one way or another Jade had come by to save the day and take all the reward. Tori had been feeling jealous of her for a while, although she forced herself to repress the emotions and focus on the bigger picture. But deep down, she had always wanted a chance to show the world her talent and stand in the spotlight for once.

"Fine." Tori reached out and wrapped her hand around Jade's wrist. In a blur of movement, Tori suddenly found herself lying on the forest floor with Jade on top, her teeth bared and hair draped over her face.

"You're funny," Jade sneered before flipping them over and locking her forearms around Tori's neck. Tori's squeal of panic cut short as she clawed at Jade wildly.

_Oh no, oh no, oh no…she's going to kill me_…

"Jade!" Tori gasped. "What—you—doing—?"

Jade refused to loosen her and brought her mouth close to Tori's, whispering so softly Tori had to force herself to stay still so she could hear her. "You cannot stop me," Jade murmured gruffly, "I will destroy all of you and take over everything."

Tori couldn't speak anymore as her windpipe flattened beneath Jade's arms. Her ears rang and her hands scrabbled at Jade's face. Her fingernails snagged in the corner of Jade's mouth and ripped down to her chin, but even this wasn't enough to release the hold. Jade squeezed harder than before until Tori's feeble attacks ceased and she faded into black.

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Tori woke up with a pounding headache. Her neck burned and she rubbed her hand across her throat, dark bruises raising at her touch. She sat up, recalling the earlier events. Jumping to her feet, she staggered back towards the riverbank.

She found Robbie standing by the sloshing waves of the river.

"Robbie?" she said in disbelief.

He turned around and grinned at seeing her. "Hi, Tor! Where did you go? I've been looking for you for the past twenty minutes." Tori sighed loudly and scratched her left ear.

"You're such a doofbag," she replied. "I just met Jade back there and she strangled me into unconsciousness, thanks for helping me out." Tori swatted at Robbie's arm in frustration.

"Whoa, what? So you _did _see her?" Robbie did not seem concerned that Tori's safety had been threatened. "Was she all right? Could you tell if—"

"Yes, she was perfectly fine," Tori replied through clenched teeth. "Because someone needs to be in good health to choke someone else, you know."

Again, Robbie ignored the hinted fact. "Dang. So should we go back to the lab or…?"

"I don't know," Tori seethed. "I'm not feeling too well after almost being _asphyxiated_ so maybe we should just—"

"Well, where else can we meet up?" Robbie looked annoyed now.

"Fine!" Tori replied, equally frustrated. "Let's just call a meeting at Hawthorn Lake. Does that make you happy, Robbie?" She spun on her heel and began taking the manual route towards the pretty lagoon. Her shoes crunched the pebbles loudly. Robbie raised an eyebrow at her posture and manner.

"Gee, what did I say now?"

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**Interesting? Yes? No?**

**Everyone sort of in character? I don't watch Victorious anymore :'( so I'm kind of starting to drift on their behaviors.**

**Hope to hear from you all and see you soon!**


	7. Regenator, Now Robber

**Yay for a new chapter! And you guys didn't even have to wait a month for this one. :)**

**Shout-outs to: Azkadellio, dww, bade, CheesyDip15, and Bubbles1023. And also to my beta, I Think It's Creative. :D**

**The chapters are going to get darker and more violent, so just a heads-up.**

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CHAPTER 7

Jade West exited the forest with new confidence in her stride; she did nothing to hide herself or pretend to not exist while passing by strangers along the sidewalks. She had left Tori alive on purpose, not wanting to do the deed until a later, more appropriate time. If it was done too early, her plans would be ruined.

The sun beat down into her back as it glowed high in the sky. Jade wiped her forehead quickly, looking uncomfortable to the heat. She wished she could remove her jacket, but since she had torn off her bloody shirt and stowed it away, she had nothing underneath to wear. Instead, she moved to stand under the shade of the nearest palm tree and hoped no one would consider her behavior strange.

Her eyes bounced around the serene scene in front of her, darting from shop to shop, giving the passing humans a brief glance over. Jade's lips melted into a frown. She wasn't satisfied with the current view. Shoving her hands into the jacket's small pockets, she continued down the hot concrete, keeping her head low and sweeping hair across her face to conceal her identity.

Time didn't matter to Jade as she ambled around, poking her head through the doors of brand-name stores, chain restaurants, and small retail establishments. She rubbed her palms together, becoming antsy as she struggled to search for the right place.

The sun passed its highest point and began its descent over the western hills when Jade found what she has spent the last few hours searching for. The windows to the store were tinted and laced with dark bars that created a lattice of metal over the grimy surfaces. She pushed against the door hard, trying to get it open and stumbling inside.

There was a large employee hovering by the entrance, lines creasing his forehead and his body reeking of sweat and dirt. Although he did not speak to Jade, his eyes never strayed from her back as she took a few steps into the store. Jade regarded her surroundings carefully, pushing down the bubbling feelings rising in her chest.

Weapons of all colors, shapes, and sizes plastered the walls.

The biggest, most dangerous-looking ones were locked in glass boxes underneath the white countertops, glinting gold and silver locks in plain sight. The ones against the wall sat in specially designed holders, their noses pointed at the ceiling. A man larger than the guard stood at the register, his glasses drooping over the end of his nose. He waved at Jade, beckoning her to him.

"What can I help you with, ma'am?" the clerk asked.

Jade looked down at the spotted, greasy carpet she stood on. A smile crept upon her lips as she lifted her head and lunged for him.

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Jade pulled her left fist back and smashed it into the security guard's face. The force of her blow cut her knuckles on the edges of his slimy teeth as they caved into his mouth. The man crumpled to the ground, his chin blossoming into a red and light purple. Jade hung above him, trying to figure out what to do next.

She heard the noise of static and turned her head to see the clerk, his face shrouded in fear, fumbling with a walkie-talkie in his hands. Eyes growing wide in anger, Jade grabbed the nearest object she could hurl at the man: the shiny metal badge pinned to the guard's chest. She ripped it away from his shirt, the pocket of the uniform coming off, and threw it as hard as she could at the clerk.

It connected with the clerk's head but clearly didn't do much damage, other than causing him to drop the communication device in panic.

That was all the time Jade needed to bridge the gap between them. She ran at full force, smashing painfully into the glass counter before sliding over the top, arms outstretched, a ferocious growl rumbling in her chest.

The clerk gave a squeak before reaching behind his back as Jade wrapped her arms around his wide waist. She wrestled him to the floor and she pinned his right hand uncomfortably behind his back. His eyes widened in fear as Jade snarled above him, pulling back her fist.

Hot pain seared in the side of Jade's face silver flashed in front of her. She recoiled immediately, grabbing her face with both hands. The clerk scrambled away, his fingers trying to find the fat red button that would summon the police.

Jade got him before he could push it.

Blood dripped down her cheek from the new, large gash below her eye. She bared her teeth at the man as he thrust his small pocketknife at her once more, catching the skin between her thumb and index finger. He continued to jab his weapon at her until he caught sight of the cut on her cheek beginning to heal at an alarmingly fast rate.

First, pale skin stretched over the blood and muscle tissue and then an odd white substance stitched its way over the pink scar.

"What the—"

Jade's fists rained down on his head as he feebly attempted to protect himself. The knife spun out of his grip, landing on the sticky floor. He was out cold in seconds, slumping to the ground. Drawing a hand across her face, Jade grabbed his chubby wrist and felt a pulse forcing its way through his bloodstream. She stood up before pocketing his small knife and then hooking her arms under the clerk's armpits, dragging him to the corner of the store. She tied him to the security guard using cables she found in a drawer below the register.

Jade scouted around the store, finding a ring of many keys attached to the clerk's belt. She locked the front door, turned around the 'Open' sign, and closed the blinds. Then she turned to look over the store's contents once more.

There was a black backpack in the storage room, which appeared to originally belong to one of the employees, judging from the personal items inside. She left them on the floor and went around the store, snatching boxes of ammunition off the shelves and stuffing them into the bag. She even smashed open the glass panels of the counter to grab the special black cartridges labeled in gold writing.

Once she believed her bag was sufficiently full, Jade marched around to find the proper tools. Two hand weapons were stuffed into the pack, both loaded and ready. She found a nice big one, weighing it in her hands and slinging the strap over her shoulder before testing it out, aiming the open end at the mirrors in the corners of the store and admiring her criminal appearance.

Jade scurried out the back door, carrying all her equipment in her arms.

She had the guns.

Now all she needed was the victims.

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_The creature was pleasantly surprised at how easy the mission had been. The two humans in the weapons store had hardly put up a fight and now, thanks to them, the creature had successfully gathered up the large tools it would need for future use. Jade's body resisted injury well, the creature noted gleefully. _

_Everything was going according to plan. The creature had never felt this level of happiness in its life…ever. Its companions back on its home planet would be very proud right now if they could see their peer's accomplishments. _

_The creature had been the one to volunteer to visit this place they called 'Earth,' where _many _different species lived, sometimes in harmony and sometimes as enemies. The creature had been told the dominant breed was called 'humans' and they were the ones that built the structures and developed the technology on the planet. _

_ However, the creature had not known at the time there were also different types of humans as well. Animals, yes, the creature had known about the diversity in the felines, canines, equines, and such. But humans? That bit of information had not been revealed to the creature. _

_The creature remembered a long while ago, before it had fully matured, that an accident had occurred and one of its own visited Earth. It had been disastrous and that individual had never been heard from again._

_ Exploration, destruction, and revenge._

_ That was what the creature was here for._

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Jade knew she couldn't be seen as soon as she set foot outside. At least, not with this large weapon hanging from her neck. It wouldn't fit under her jacket and she needed a way to get to her next destination without being spotted.

Eventually she settled on taking to the rooftops. Scaling the wall of the gun store, she pulled herself onto the gravel-covered top, her boots crunching into the dirt and pebbles.

The bag bounced on her back unnervingly as she stayed low and made daring hops across the different buildings. Occasionally she would peak over the edge to make sure no one watched her progress and that she went in the right direction.

Her legs started to ache from having to bend over and her spine felt like it would snap. Jade pushed on until she caught the scent of freshly printed paper. She paused on the rooftop and leaned over the side, finding an beige building below her with a octagonal logo made up of blue trapezoids plastered on the front. This was the place.

Jade popped the hood of her torn leather jacket over her head and adjusted the straps of the backpack to ensure it wouldn't slip off her shoulders. Taking the large gun in her hands, she jumped off the roof.

Her legs felt like jello when she collided with the ground. Straightening up, she saw people around her staring in shock and wondering why she hadn't passed out from the fall. Ignoring them, she pushed through the glass doors of the building and raised her weapon, pulling the trigger and releasing several bullets that shot right through the ceiling.

She had everyone's attention in the next second. This store's security guard, a female wearing blue and a tight-fitting police hat, whipped out her own weapon and aimed it at Jade.

Jade didn't want to permanently injure the woman and took the knife from her pocket that she had stolen from the clerk at the gun store. She pressed the button to unleash the blade and threw it at the guard. The woman dropped her gun in fright as the handle end smacked into her chest.

People ducked below counters and employees disappeared behind their desks. Jade chuckled darkly and walked over to the first standing employee she saw, pointing the gun at the man's sweaty forehead.

"Money," she snarled, holding out an empty hand.

The man shook his head, beads of sweat dripping into his eyes. He shook with fear. Jade rattled her gun aggressively and the man cowered lower, his hands scrambling for the button on the register.

The thick wad of cash toppled into Jade's palm but before she could even wrap her fingers around it, the security guard shouted from behind, "Drop your weapon and put your hands on your head!"

Jade spun around, glaring up at the guard, who stood less than fifteen feet away. The woman repeated her command, her gun pointed directly at Jade's chest. Jade shrugged and placed the weapon on the ground.

"Here you go," she said simply.

"Slide it towards me," the guard warned.

Jade stuck her foot ahead and pushed against the gun sharply. It spun out-of-control and discharged half a dozen bullets in a random spray. The guard dropped to the floor—Jade did not know if she had been hit. Jade retrieved her weapon as everyone kneeled in their hiding places, still shell-shocked. Knowing she had to act fast, Jade made a round to every open stall and snatched up money, rifling through lost purses and bags as well. No one made a move to stop her.

When her backpack was close to exploding, Jade tried to figure out how she would leave the bank. Without warning, shrill alarms sounded and seven big police officers barged through the doors wearing protective gear and holding up guns that would rival Jade's.

"Get on the floor now!" someone yelled through a megaphone.

Jade laughed and turned towards them, taking steps backwards. She waved her gun at them but did not fire.

"On the floor _now_!" the voice repeated.

Jade pulled the trigger and shot at them. She bent over the split second before they fired back, riddling the walls behind her with bullets. People screamed and Jade slipped out the exit before the officers could catch up to her.

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**So...what did you of all of that? Shocking or expected?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Just a warning, this chapter has some material that could be upsetting/disturbing to some viewers. Be careful when you read it. **

**Thanks to: Azkadellio, dww, bade, LiTtLemIsSnOtPerfect22, and Bubbles1023. And I won't forget my beta, I Think It's Creative. :)  
**

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CHAPTER 8

Tori, André, Robbie, Cat, Beck, and Trina stood along the path bordering the glittering expanse of water that was Hawthorn Lake. They were all dressed in casual clothes and footwear, standing in a circle, excluding Beck. He sat on a bench with his head in his hands, lost in his own world still. No one had been able to convince him that there was clearly a mistake and Jade was not in her right state of mind. He said he wouldn't believe them until he spoke with her himself.

"So now what can we possibly do?" André asked impatiently, his hands buried deep in his jean pockets. Cat drifted between him and Robbie, going from placing her head on the Dimensioner's shoulder to switching and looping her arm through André's. Robbie looked annoyed every time she moved away from him and started to inch closer to Trina instead.

"Jade has no reason to be here," Trina pointed out, "So why are we?"

"Well, I just thought we could convene here to come up with a new plan," Tori replied. André squinted at her as if to question why they couldn't have gone to his laboratory. "Change of scenery, you know? You should really considering renovating your lab, André."

"I could help you with that," Cat inputted, bouncing on her heels excitedly. "When I went to the paint store the other day with Tori, I saw the most amazing red velvet color that you could put on the—" She was cut off by a scream more high-pitched than her voice.

All six of their heads pivoted in the direction across Hawthorn Lake, where the silhouettes of the buildings were blocked by the glare from the sun. Shading her eyes, Tori noticed a crowd that had gathered around the base of a particularly tall structure.

"Look at that party over there," Robbie commented.

"Do you guys see that?" Trina pointed at a figure on the top of the building. Tori couldn't quite make out what they were doing, but obviously it attracted a lot of attention.

"I'll get a closer look." Robbie dimensioned away. They saw his form across the lake step over the short brick wall that separated the trail of the lake to the sidewalk and street. The group waited patiently. Beck had gotten off the bench and now stood next to Tori, his brown eyes shadowed with grief.

It took Robbie a full minute to return.

"Someone is throwing money off the roof!" he reported eagerly. "There are dollar bills just floating around everywhere. The people are trying to snag all the twenties they can get."

"Did you see who was throwing it?" André inquired.

"Nope. They were too high up and the sun just gets in your eyes."

"Where are the police?" Tori asked. "This doesn't seem like something they would approve of." She frowned, drumming her right fingers against her thigh. "I think we should go investigate."

"Wait—" Cat latched her hand onto André's arm tightly. Her eyes were wide and a blush crept up her cheeks, something that happened every time she had an unexpected vision.

"What's up?" he asked, but she never go to answer.

POP. BANG. POP. POP.

The gang froze, trying to take in the scene erupting before their eyes. They didn't need to exchange any words with each other; they already knew what to do.

Someone had started firing bullets at the crowd.

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Jade watched with a grin that would rival the Cheshire Cat smile as she reached into her black bag and pulled out a small handful of the money she had stolen from the bank. Turning back around, she waved at the expanding crowd and tossed the bills over the edge of the roof.

It took the people a few seconds to realize what she had thrown their way but when they did, they turned into animals, fighting each other to snatch the biggest bills. They yelled up at her, demanding more. She could hardly keep up with them.

She snickered to herself as the bag gradually began to grow empty. When she was down to her last wad, she straightened her back, crumpling the bills in her left hand while raising the gun in her right. She chucked the money over the edge and watched as it exploded into green fluttering confetti before yanking up her gun, steadying it with her left hand and pulled the trigger rapidly.

The people scattered, dropping low and diving behind parked vehicles for cover. Jade shot at random, not aiming for anyone in particular, but feeling satisfied all the same when she heard the desperate cries of civilians being hit and collapsing to the ground. when someone was hit and they collapsed to the ground. She re-loaded her weapon and fell to one knee, intent on being as accurate as possible.

The cars that had been trying to drive around the noisy crowd immediately stopped in their tracks. The drivers leapt out onto the street and ran away, many leaving their engines still running. Money covered the ground, forgotten in the wake of the shooting.

Eventually police sirens could be heard as the cops pulled up to the scene. Jade laughed and blasted away at them, taking out the headlights and shattering the windows. Some of them tried to sneak through the front doors of the building, but Jade warned them away with shots that missed their heads by inches.

She was manic. She didn't care anymore.

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Robbie dimensioned the entire group behind the brick wall. Trina stood up and a stray bullet whizzed by her ear before Cat pulled her down and shook her head.

"Doesn't look like they'll be stopping anytime soon," Beck muttered harshly. His features were cold and emotionless, like he was trying to push away his feelings from earlier to concentrate on the current situation.

"Darn, I wish we had our costumes," Robbie said, snapping his fingers.

"Robbie, you take Tori up to the roof and stay hidden by the electrical boxes that are usually on buildings," André said. "You can spy on, but _do not_ confront, the shooter unless absolutely necessary.

"Beck and Trina, see if you can get into the building and keep everyone inside. The last thing we need is a rush of people exiting all at once; it would be too perfect of a target for the shooter.

"Cat and I will stay down here to help the police officers," André finished.

"Wait. How come Cat gets to be with you?" Robbie whined.

"What's wrong with me?" Tori asked, hurt.

"You can have Trina if you want," Beck offered, earning him a solid smack on the shoulder from the eldest Vega. Robbie's ears blushed red as Trina turned to face him. He scratched the side of his face and glanced over at Cat again.

"But—"

"Save it for later, you nitwits." Trina physically put herself between Robbie and André's jealous stare down. Police sirens wailed at their arrival and tires skidded across asphalt.

Tori grabbed Robbie's hand and they disappeared in green smoke. Trina nodded at Beck and together they leapt over the wall, rushing over to hide behind a lamppost and a dented red corvette. They appeared to be stuck, unable to move forward any further since the shooter was still firing rounds down.

André and Cat remained near the brick wall. They listened intently as cops started running around, dragging the unconscious victims to safety and hurrying to avoid the scatter of ammunition.

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Robbie conveniently dimensioned them behind a transformer and air conditioning unit. The running fan created a noise loud enough to hide the bang of smoke that accompanied the teleportation. They were a safe distance away from the shooter, who also had their back towards them.

Tori swallowed deep breaths as she felt the familiar rush of danger and adrenaline fill her body. This was the first time in a while in which she had felt so pumped. The fear was real.

She was up here completely alone with Robbie and a deranged killer. Even though she knew without a doubt that he would jump in to protect her at any moment—and she would do the same for him—something felt off to her. Maybe it was because on missions like this, Jade would always be the one by her side.

Now she was alone.

Jade could be anywhere, doing anything; the gang had no idea of tracking her anymore. Tori's heart thumped painfully in her chest and she chewed on her bottom lip uneasily.

Robbie tried to stick his head around the corner of the transformer, but he kept chickening out, pulling his head back before his forehead had even been exposed. He took off his glasses and scrubbed the lens with the hem of his T-shirt, slipping them back on his face and starting the process all over.

"What are you doing?" Tori hissed.

"It's not as easy as it looks," Robbie replied, bringing a finger to his lips to remind Tori to keep her voice down. The air conditioning fan was only so loud, even with the sound of exploding shells. "I…I can't really get a good look at who it might be."

"Because you're not even looking," Tori noted, rolling her eyes. She started to poke her head around her machine when the gunfire suddenly ceased. Her neck snapped to the left and she pushed her back against the cold metal of the air conditioner. Her hands, resting by her sides, curled up and crunched gravel between her fingers.

They heard the loud, authoritative voice of a police chief ripped through their ears with a megaphone.

"Drop your weapon and put your hands on your head."

The shootings started again. Tori realized with a sinking feeling in her gut that the officers had begun returning fire. She saw out of the corner of her eye the figure bobbed up and down, screaming curse words and shooting wildly.

"If you do not comply, you will forcibly be brought down." The killer wasn't deterred at all. If anything, they had re-loaded their gun and now kept their finger pressed against the trigger, firing at a rapid rate.

Tori tilted her head around the air conditioner and saw a female of medium height and build. There was a black backpack strapped to her back, with the zippers hanging open and empty boxes of bullets and shells scattered around her dark boots. Deep brown hair with brighter highlights trailed down her shoulders.

And then Tori saw the female's pale hand reach behind to grab a new pack of ammo.

It was Jade.

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Beck and Trina struggled to find something to do in the heated fray. More police cars were pulling up, their windows and doors pelted with bullets.

"How much ammunition does this person have?" Trina mused.

"Clearly too much," Beck responded darkly.

They both suddenly heard a soft moan nearby. Trina noticed a man splayed out on the sidewalk close to them. His head bled from where it had cracked when he hit the pavement and there a red stain bloomed on the left side of his torso. Trina nudged Beck's arm and pointed at the man.

Looking through the broken windows of the corvette, they saw the shooter visibly distracted by police officers. They darted out and grabbed the wrists and ankles of the man, dragging him behind the safety of a Ford pick-up truck.

Meanwhile, André and Cat had left their hiding spot and ran down the street together, waving their arms and screaming for people to head away from the scene. They were stopped by several cops, who demanded to do what they were doing in the fray. They informed them that there was a killer shooting people from the roof of a six-story building and they needed to evacuate the area, as well as send help for the injured.

"I can't believe someone would do such a horrible thing," Cat murmured softly to André as they directed traffic away from the current street.

"I know," André answered grimly.

"I hope no one died."

André looked at her questioningly. In a quiet voice, he asked, "Did you see anything…?"

Cat shook her head. "No, not yet. I only saw when it began. I don't know how this will end André…if it does. I don't know how many people are going to get hurt, either." Tears started to well up in her chocolate eyes.

André pulled her into his chest, hugging her tightly. "It's okay, Cat. We'll do our best to make sure there are as few casualties as possible."

"Is that a promise?" Cat asked, wiping at her watering eyes.

"Of course, Lil' Red."

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"You have ten seconds to drop your weapon or you must face severe consequences!" the terrified chief continued shouting threats at Jade through his megaphone.

"Robbie, Robbie, we need to do something," Tori whispered frantically, squeezing the sides of her head. "They'll shoot Jade to death if we don't, since it's clear that she doesn't plan on stopping."

"We can't just walk up to her if she's got a gun," Robbie countered reasonably.

"Five seconds!"

"Think of something we _can_ do then!" Tori felt agitated and she pulled herself up into a crouch, bouncing on the balls of her feet, her mind reeling. If she made her appearance known, chances were that Jade would get startled, turn around, and shoot Tori in the head before she could even speak. But if she failed to do anything, then the police would kill Jade before she got to say anything.

"Four…"

"Robbie."

"Three…"

"I'm thinking!" Robbie was coming to the same horrible realization as Tori.

"Two...

"JADE!" Tori screamed before the police officer could get to one. She jumped out from behind the conditioner and waved her arms frantically. Jade twisted around, raising her gun at Tori.

But she never had the chance to shoot the Kinecter.

From below, the officers fired their guns at Jade.

Tori dove out of the way as dozens of bullets came whizzing up. They hit the surprised Jade everywhere. Blood sprayed over the edge and across the gravel of the roof. Her mouth dropped open but she didn't scream.

She fell in slow-motion. The gun slipped from her sweaty, bloody hands; her body curved at the waist and she landed on her left shoulder before flattening out against in the ground. Her greasy hair whipped around her face as her head twisted back and forth.

Jade laid there silently, blood pooling around her body. Her clenched fingers went limp and she released a shaky breath, almost like she was exhausted rather than in pain. There were over twenty bullet wounds that pierced her torso, arms and legs.

Tori sat up, watching her friend with a look of horror, sadness, and disgust.

Jade's eyes shifted upwards to glance at Tori and they locked contact. Tori saw bright blue pupils for a split second before Jade's eyelids drooped and her chest stopped moving.

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**I promise that one day I will get actual chapter titles up. It's just so much more work. :P**

**The next chapter is already finished, I just need to get it edited. Thanks you guys!**


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